>>1086001
Oh right also the ring is too narrow to hold identifiable prints.

The main issue is that Mrs Nora saw us heading towards this location. What we SHOULD do is mail the ring to the cops, anonymously, with a typed explanation of how it was found. We also need to ask Mrs. Nora to not tell the cops we were here. And also find out if Debra is still alive.

>>1086127

Of course she's still alive! We saw her just earlier today! Wait—oh. Oh.

>>1086146
Hey.
What if its the GHOST of her arm?

Better find a good poking stick, and poke away just to be sure.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086855 ID: ab70bc
File 171099966158.gif - (239.03KB , 560x560 , 3_19_24 Rileyquest arm poke.gif )

>put the ring on the finger
Ew, gross! You're not gonna touch it. It's cool but there's a line.

You poke it with a stick instead.

Yep that's definitely a real arm. No ghosts here. The wound doesn't look very gruesome, there aren't any obvious bite marks, it looks like it was cleanly torn off. And it's fresh but there there isn't much blood, so maybe it was moved here.
That's about all you can figure out.

You stop jabbing it when the sound of a woodpecker wakes you up. It's gotten dark and without your jacket you're already feeling the cold.
Getting home doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086856 ID: ab70bc
File 171099969221.gif - (540.65KB , 800x513 , bird big.gif )

Before you can do anything the unnamed bird joins you once again.

"NUMBER FOUR."

The bird drops this spooky shit on you like it's no big deal, the streetlights flicker behind you.

It makes a weird noise like it's clearing its throat then surprisingly, continues. "THAT'S WEIRD, RIGHT?" It hops around on the arm a bit like he's trying to be disrespectful. "I KNOW YOUR MIND, I HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. IS THIS THE RAT?"

The bird knows.

"KNOWLEDGE COMES AT A PRICE. SOME PRICES ARE TOO DEAR TO PAY."

The little fuck looks you dead in the eyes.

"TEN DOLLARS."

...Yeah okay eldritch enlightenment is probably worth ten bucks.

>>1086856
Shit. You don't have that much on you. Tell it to follow you and you'll get the money.

You do have that much laying around somewhere, right?

>"TEN DOLLARS."
Damn, i thought the person who lost their arm was the one getting eviscerated...

Might as well though, that's like two Big Macs (alas).

Also contemplate the idea that this Crow may actually be some sort of Supernatural Being, and what rad powers he might have potentially

I dont think we have 10 dollars, or anything worth 10 dollars, sooooooo... bye!

>>1086855
Oh, is that some kind of mark in the pavement under the hand?

>>1086856
I think it's time to entertain the idea that you may be tripping balls.

Check your sewer cut hand Riley.
See if it's flaring up, itchy or otherwise odd.

Resist the temptation to poke the crow with your grade A poking stick.

If you havent got anything worth ten dollars try barter.
Maybe the stick will do.
It's a pretty rad stick.

>>1086864
I think it's just a crack on the concrete. You can see other cracks like that on the floor in other panels too

>>1086856
What about i give you a name as payment like "Mordicai"

It pretty obviously is Debra's arm, but it's not like you can reattach it or anything, right? The magpie is selling you what you already know!

You need to leave this place. Get home before it gets dark. The arm is not a ghost, so... time to forget this ever happened?

Oh, but you can give Debra back her ring, at least!

Stare it dead in the eye back and ask if it takes IOUs.

>>1086856
Is this just the crow again in a diffrent guise?

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:12 No. 1088130 ID: ab70bc
File 171246316174.png - (108.29KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 86.png )

You check your hand. It looks pretty good actually! There isn't a sign there was ever a cut here, which is weird even for you.

There's an itch in your bones that makes you want to clench your fist, even when you scratch it the feeling won't go away.
It's like when your leg goes dead and you have to shake it a lot or when you hit your elbow on your chair.

"Dude what the fuck. Ten dollars is at least two Big Macs, and soda." You could dine like a king for that kind of money. It's outrageous.

The bird bows its wings. "I CAN WAIT. THERE IS NO DEADLINE ON WEALTH."
What a weird little dude. Maybe you can find him later when you're more loaded.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088131 ID: ab70bc
File 171246318967.gif - (154.71KB , 560x359 , Lights out.gif )

There are maybe a few people in town that are this old-lady-tiny whose arm this could be, and Debra's definitely the one most likely to get into wacky hijinks that involve losing an arm. It makes sense it'd be her.

Before you can jab the crow with your stick in hopes of a discount, the flickering lights fade out leaving you in the dark.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088132 ID: ab70bc
File 171246322150.png - (91.33KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 88.png )

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh that's so laaaaaaaame." Thankfully, you can see pretty well at night, at least when there's moonlight around. People get lost in the woods and things get w e i r d in the dark.

Checking out a crime scene was cool, now you can check 'poke a dead arm' off your bucketlist. You should probably figure out a way to get home though, you're cold and this bird sucks.

+30EXP for sneaking into a crime scene
You leveled up to Problem Sleuth

Hmm, did time really pass that quickly actually?

Before you go (probably to band if you didnt completely miss it :V), be sure to ask if you can pick up like a snow cone/hamburger, is it free?

If yes, do it immediately. He might go Gwah (or Woo)...

Also consider that you're probably totally in something Spooky and/or Supernatural (good thing?)

>>1088132
Alright start walking home. Stick to the streets for now. Quick pace.

Guess it's too late for band practice. Ah well, time to go home.

>>1088133
Definetly hamburger more filling the greasy vein clogging sort we cant waste money on frozen water and milk

>>1088141

Good point. You're going to want to watch your weight. It's starting to affect your climbing prowess. Need some healthy food to counteract that sweet bun.

It's a moot point really, the hamburger place and the soda fountain are both going to be closed this late at night.

...what kind of town turns out their street lights when it gets dark?

oh yeah, as you leave, give the bird the bird and tell it, "smell ya later"

>>1088131
Oh
My
God
Hes got contacts in the local council electrical maintenance team!

>>1088132
Woo!
Youre a problem sleuth instead of just a problem!
Good going riley!

Keep your stick and head home.
You can clack it along the fences you pass and you never know when youll find something in need of a good poking.

Time for band practice. It's not too late for that, right? It would be super lame to ditch your friends when you said you'd be there. Besides, you need someone to tell about the cool severed arm you saw, you must be bursting to get that one out.

>>1088142
Its more of a we literally cant waste money on anything thats not filling cant waste money on whats basically water mostly

Panda 2024/04/20(Sat)18:21 No. 1089279 ID: ab70bc
File 171366246533.png - (100.80KB , 935x710 , Rileyquest 89.png )

You're not fat... right? You eat all your vegetables; burgers have onions, tomatoes, and pickles on them.
That's basically a salad.

You're probably still able to get home for band practice. Uh, probably? What time is it again?
You can grab some food on your way home but suddenly you're self conscious about your waistline.

Wh, just eat the sticky bun, and consider it your last treat before your diet.

>>1089279
You're not fat.
You're
Uh.
Rubenesque.
That's artistic beauty.

If you want to lose weight the most impactful thing you can do is avoid sugary drinks. Drink water, it's good for you!

>>1089279
Short answer: Yes you are fat, but yes you are also well-endowed and high-spirited, in quantities that are far above the norm.

>>1089279
Just eat the treat you are pretty enough that it dont matter those bunny models have flat stomachs but they have no tits or ass and sort of look like guys but also they would not survive fall or the zombie apocalypse on kale and lettuce due to the cold and malnutrition

Do you not normally have those jelly rolls? Most people do. (Most raccoons do?) Like 90% of your body fat is your tits, anyway. Get food if you're hungry. (You have a sneaking suspicion you'll get a lot of advice how to eat strategically if you do.) If you're not hungry, just head home.

>>1089317
Remember you need to also dehydrate and have dangerously low fat content for those movie abbs also not as noticable with alot of hair.
Also yeah so long as you are not under feed you should have a jelly roll its natural to have that amount minimum to protect organs and to have something when times get lean when migrating to a new hunting and gathering spots often along a river.

>>1089279
No you're not fat, your a pretty average weight all things considered.

Your doing just fine, and besides fuck societies rules and standards, since when did that matter?

Panda 2024/05/07(Tue)12:56 No. 1090492 ID: ab70bc
File 171511179865.png - (290.42KB , 1620x1020 , Rileyquest 90.png )

Before you can continue prodding your insecurities a flash of light fries your retinas and you shriek like a little girl.

The bird, not wanting to be the one caught holding the proverbial drugs beats the scene immediately leaving you alone.

Panda 2024/05/07(Tue)12:57 No. 1090493 ID: ab70bc
File 171511186364.png - (163.95KB , 747x644 , Rileyquest 91.png )

"FFFFFffffffffffffucking Riley. Why is it always you?"

This asshole over here gets all up in your business. All 'woof woof' and 'I'm the police'. You're very cool and collected in scary situations so you stand up to him.

"Don't shoot, I'm allergic to dying."
You immediately throw your hands up in surrender.

Nathan is too pissed off for your shenanigans. "What the fuck are you doing here? You're going to get me in so much trouble."

You're going to need to diffuse this situation or this could turn bad. Nathan used to be your friend, maybe you can talk it out? Or you can run away from your problems.

Tell him he did a shitty job at investigating, you found a severed finger, a dubloon, and a ring on the roof, so you're a better detective than him! Nyah-nyah! :P

Also tell him he doesn't have to get in trouble if he tells nobody you were here

Didn't you have somewhere to be? Tell him there's no problem here, you were just taking the short cut.

>>1090493
Tell him you found evidence. A crow stole the ring off of the victim's finger. Also if he gives you 10 bux you can find out who the arm belongs to.

Don't tell him anything, or admit anything. You're just on your way to band practice. Look, you're just going home, okay? Why is he making such a big deal about it?

Leaving!

>>1090493
Quickly!
Tell him you didnt do it!

Ask him what the hell is going on here.
You were just taking a normal shortcut home and theres an arm on the floor.

He used to be your friend and even if hes decided to insert a nightstick up his ass for a career, you dont want to make life hard for him.

He was cool once.
Thats still gotta be buried somewhere.

"I like jumping across rooftops, okay?! Now answer my question: why the @#$% is there a severed arm in an alleyway?!"

Act like you didn't know this was a crime scene. Your cover story: You were busy challenging yourself to jump across rooftops, and you fell while failing to make the bonus score gap. Then you freaked out in silence for a few minutes when you noticed the severed arm.

>>1089279
Your waistline is fine, don't even worry about it. Worry more about the severed arm holy shit-
>>1090519
This! Say hey, you found a finger on the roof and then you found the arm and ask if there's a fucked up serial killer or something.

>>1090533
>>1090560
Oh yeah found a ring on the roof had to bribe a crow for it along with the severed finger but i think it belongs to that hand

>>1090589

The precious is ours you must not let them have it!!!

Tell him you didn't do it, in fact you have no idea what it is. You didn't see, heard or took anything.
And you don't want to see him anymore than he wants to see you, you just want to get to your band practice. Why would you get him in trouble anyway ? It's not like you can make him any worse at his job.